Lost
by Lollipop456
Summary: When Stephen starts dating, everything seems right about this new relationship. However, Stephen's new girlfriend, Molly, starts suffering nightmares and calling out for someone who isn't Stephen. Even stranger, she doesn't remember her actions the morning after. Wanting to help, Stephen begins a search into Molly's past. What he finds might destroy their happiness together.
1. Chapter 1

The life of a suphero was a busy one; something that Stephen Strange was learning each day. How he even managed to live a semi-normal life was beyond him, but he did. When he wasn't protecting Earth from mystical enemies, he was settling back into the routine as an ER doctor. None of the doctors gave him any hard stuff, mainly just case review, x-ray technican, and occasional stitcher.

As Stephen entered the ER to begin his shift, he ran into his ex-girlfriend, Doctor Christine Palmer.

"How's the heroics game?" Christine asked quietly.

"Nothing that my new friends can't handle." Stephen said.

Christine nodded and sighed. "It's pretty quiet here tonight. My shift is about to end, so I was wondering if you could handle a stitching?"

It used to be that Stephen could take a job like this and not worry. That was before the accident.

"How many?" Stephen asked.

"It's a nice sized cut, but nothing too major. Probably seven or eight." Christine explained.

Stephen nodded and Christine handed him the patient's chart. When Stephen pulled back the curtain to see the patient; he found a young woman, dressed in a blazer and skirt. Your typical New York businesswoman; broken high heel and open gash. Yep, typical.

"Good start to a morning, huh?" Stephen asked.

The woman turned towards Stephen and smiled. She sat up slowly with Stephen's help, holding a towel to her head.

"A word of advice? Never try running in heels or you'll end up eating concrete." The woman said.

Stephen extended his hand. "I'll keep that in mind. Doctor Stephen Strange."

"Molly Tyler." The woman shook Stephen's hand. "So, give it to me straight: Will I live?"

Stephen smiled and examined the wound. It was a small, but defintely open gash. Thankfully, it had stopped bleeding sometime ago and it seemed that Christine had already cleaned it.

"Doctor Palmer was right, it's going to be need some stitches."

As Stephen started to prep to put in the sutures, Molly groaned.

"I could give you something for the pain before we begin." Stephen suggested.

Molly gave a dismissal wave. "It's not that, I can handle some headaches, believe me. It's just I had a huge case I was working on. I wanted this bastard to get life, and now I'm going to miss the first day of the trial."

"You're a prosecutor, then?" Stephen asked.

Molly laughed and then winced. "What gave it away?"

"Hold still, please." Stephen started to suture the gash shut. "How long you been swimming with sharks?"

"About ten years. I had an accident at some point in my life; can't remember a damn thing before 2003. Became depressed, but when I decided to stop moping, I joined the bar and it's history from there."

"You had amensia?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah. I mean, the only thing I remembered was my first and last name, and only fragments from my childhood. Everything else is gone. Why do you ask?"

Stephen paused but then gave a short laugh. "It's nothing. I hope you don't mind, but we're going to keep you over night for observation; just to make sure you don't have a concussion."

"Will I be outta here by noon tomorrow? I need to be in court by then." Molly said.

Stephen finished the last suture and bandaged the wound. "Shouldn't be a problem. I'll see about getting you a bed."

Stephen left Molly alone. He didn't want to worry her, but something seemed off about her being an amensiac. Way off. There was nothing on her chart to suggest previous brain trauma. Perhaps it was nothing but a misprint. Perhaps she just happened to be single; after all, Stephen didn't see a wedding ring.


	2. Chapter 2

After an evening with no symptoms of a concussion and one MRI to be on the safe side, Molly was discharged from the hospital. Stephen himself decided to do the honors of escorting her out when she refused to use a wheelchair. A taxi was waiting for Molly at the entrance.

"We'll have the results of the MRI in a few days, but I don't see any cause for concern." Stephen said.

"Of course not. Prosecutors have hard heads; they need one." Molly joked.

Stephen smiled. "I hope you win your case today."

"Believe me I've been crossing my fingers, my toes, and my eyes for the past month. It's a wonder I'm not a pretzel."

Stephen opened the taxi door for Molly and she climbed into the backseat. Stephen tapped on the window and Molly rolled it down.

"I almost forgot to ask. Would it be too much trouble to ask for your number?" Stephen asked.

"You don't need to ask." Molly rolled the window back up and the taxi took off.

Stephen stood dumbfounded; he had no idea what Molly had meant. Shrugging his shoulders, he stuck his hands in the pockets of his scrubs. What he pulled out was a crumpled piece of paper with a phone number written on it.

Two days later, Stephen and Molly arranged a date at a bar in Manhattan. Molly had told Stephen that after weeks of wining and dining at the likes of Delmonicos. A good old fashioned beer and some fries were just what was needed.

The bar only had a few people in it, so it was nice and quiet. Perfect for a first date. If only Stephen wasn't the only one doing the talking; Molly had barely said a single word the entire evening. Most of the time she was staring off into space or just nodding her head in agreement.

"This bar has been opened for about fifty years. It's one of my favorites." Stephen said.

Molly nodded. "That's nice, Stephen."

"Great drinks and great services." Stephen added.

"Mm-hmm."

Stephen sighed and rested his elbow on the table. "It's also got a good strip show every Friday."

Finally, Molly blinked and turned her attention to Stephen. "What did you say?"

"Finally. I have your attention. For a moment, I thought that I was invisible."

Molly gave a short chuckle and fiddled with her hands. "I'm not being a very good date, am I?"

"I've had worse. So, you wanna tell me what this is about?"

"I lost the case." Molly finally said.

Stephen lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

"It was mistrial and all because I fucked up, Stephen. Of all the cases, this is the one where I lose my nerve."

"What happened?"

Molly's face turned red, but Stephen could not be sure if it was from anger or embarassment. "We were introducing the last few pieces of evidence. We came to Exhibit K and then something happened. I can't really explain it. My head started spinning, and all I could see was this face in my head. I'm not even sure it was a face. It was more like a shadow. Then, it was gone. I lost my lunch in the courtroom, and Blake's attorney jumped at this. Shall I quote him? "Due to Miss Tyler's illness, it's quite evident she may not be coherent and her mental judgement might be impaired. I rule for a mistrial." The judge only thought about it for a minute; he didn't even retire to chambers."

"Did you feel nauseous? It's possible that this was because of your injury." Stephen said.

Molly ran her hand down her face. "No, I felt fine. Just fine. Until I heard the letter K. I've always had an aversion to it, but nothing this bad."

Stephen arched his eyebrow. "You hate the letter K?"

"I-I don't hate it. It's just a letter that I don't like to use. No big deal. Some people cover up their ears when they hear Pauly Shore. It's just a quirk, that's it."

"Any more quirks I should know about?" Stephen asked.

Molly finally managed a smile. "Well, I wash my hair two times a day. I crack my knuckles when I'm nervous. I love opera, but hate musicals. I also happen to be very interested in a good-looking doctor."

"That's not a quirk." Stephen said quietly.

"No. It's just a fact."

Molly leaned across the table and kissed Stephen on the lips. It wasn't really a surprise when they left the bar a few hours later, that they headed for Stephen's apartment and didn't come out until morning.


	3. Chapter 3

After their steamy first date, Molly and Stephen started a relationship. It wasn't easy considering they both have busy schedules; Molly with her cases, and Stephen with his shifts at the hospital and his "other" work. Still, the few moments they had together, they savoured.

One evening, Stephen and Molly laid in his bed asleep. With his arm draped across her bare chest, Stephen felt Molly starting to move in her sleep. Then, she started whimpering and moaning.

"Kai. Kai. Where are you? Kai." Molly cried.

Stephen shook Molly gently by the shoulder, trying to wake her. Molly's calls for "Kai" only became louder until she sat up screaming. Stephen wrapped his arms around her and held her.

"It's okay. It's okay. I'm here." Stephen whispered.

Molly calmed down quickly and faced Stephen. Her face was completely blank, devoid of any emotion.

"A bad dream. I'm sorry, Stephen." Molly kissed Stephen's cheek and laid back down to sleep.

The next morning, Stephen found Molly in the kitchen, already dressed and making some coffee. She had a bright smile on her face and didn't seem at all exhausted.

"Good morning, sunshine." Molly said.

"Good morning." Stephen walked over to Molly and kissed the top of her head. "I take it you're heading into court?"

"Big case today. I have to be there early." Molly said.

Stephen leaned against the counter and picked up an apple from the fruit bowl. "So, about that nightmare last night. Do you wanna talk about it?"

Molly turned towards Stephen and arched her eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I didn't have a nightmare last night."

"You mean you don't remember screaming for somebody named Kai?" Stephen asked.

"Why the world would I do that? I don't know anyone named Kai. Maybe you were the one that was dreaming."

Stephen stood in place, completely dumbfounded. Molly smiled and gave him a nice, long kiss before brushing the tip of her finger against his lips.

"I gotta be going. See you tonight."

Molly left the apartment without another word. Stephen was baffled, to say the least. First, the vomitting in the courtroom and now a nightmare that Molly didn't remember. As a doctor and boyfriend, he was concerned, to say the least. Then again, it still could have been nothing. Perhaps just a lingering affect from her injury.


	4. Chapter 4

Stephen stared at Molly's file, hoping that some clue laid hidden in her medical history. Nothing. No mention of any sort of neurogical trauma or history of mental illness. Sighing, he looked over her recent CT scans again. Maybe he had missed something.

"You do know that your shift started five minutes ago?"

Stephen nearly jumped out of his seat but gave a deep sigh when he saw it was Christine standing at the door to the lounge.

"I was just going over a patient's history." Stephen tossed Molly's file onto a nearby table.

Christine folded her arms. "Which patient?"

"Molly." Stephen murmured.

"As in "current girlfriend" Molly?" Christine asked.

"She's been acting weird lately, and I wanted to see if there was anything that could give me a clue to help her."

"Weird how?"

"A couple of nights ago she had a nightmare. She just kept screaming for someone named Kai. When I asked her about the next morning, she told me that she didn't have a nightmare and that she didn't know anybody named Kai."

Christine shrugged. "She's an amensiac, right? Maybe this Kai is just someone she can't remember. A relative, or an ex. Nightmares and dreams are messages from our subconcious after all."

"There's a few other things. She admits that she has an aversion to the letter K, she even threw up during a case when she heard it. Then, there's the fact that she has no record of previous brain trauma. Not to..." Stephen cut himself off, he didn't want to come off as paranoid.

"Stephen, what is it?"

Stephen sighed. "The way she looked at me when I woke her from that nightmare. She looked different. When she told me she was fine, she didn't have any emotion at all. Nothing. Just a blank stare. It was like she was looking right past me."

"Some people aren't really coherent after having a bad dream." Christine said.

"It was more than that, Christine! She wasn't scared or upset or anything. It was like she was a robot. Like she was programmed to tell me that everything was fine."

Christine kneeled in front of Stephen. "Okay, I'll admit that doesn't sound normal. Maybe you should talk to Molly about this. Make her understand that she's not well."

"You mean tell her that she's crazy. I can't do that to her."

"Stephen, she won't get help if she doesn't think she needs it." Christine said simply.

Stephen stood and grabbed Molly's file. "I'm gonna call a few friends. See if I can find a good pyschcatrist."

"Does that mean you're gonna talk to her?" Christine asked.

"Not yet. I'm not going to write her off as insane unless I need to." Stephen said firmly.


	5. Chapter 5

Stephen was able to contact a colleague of his, who sent him in the direction of a Doc Samson. When Stephen arrived at Samson's office, he was put at ease immetidately. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just the typical "head-shrinker" office, complete with couch and a Freud collection.

"Have a seat, Doctor Strange."

Stephen jumped at the sound of a voice. He saw a man standing by the window with a book in his hand. He was tall and lean, and couldn't have been a lot older than Stephen.

"I'm Doc Samson." The man introduced himself without looking up from his book.

"Must be an interesting read." Stephen joked, giving an awkward chuckle.

Samson finally looked up from the book. "It should be. It was written by you."

Stephen pondered for a second before recalling that he had published a complitation of essays that he'd written on neurogical research.

"That was done just a few months after my graduation."

"You must be proud of it."

Stephen shrugged. "My research was just a hobby back then."

"The reason why I read it is because I make it a hobby of mine to do my own research on my patients."

"Excuse me?"

"I hope you don't mind."

Stephen gave a short laugh. "Apparently, there was a misunderstanding when Bruce called you. I'm not your patient. I actually wanted to talk to you about my girlfriend Molly."

Samson looked over Stephen's shoulder. "Is she with you?"

"No. She doesn't actually know I'm here."

Samson gestured towards a chair. "Have a seat."

Stephen and Samson sat down, across from one another. It was this moment that Stephen realized something seemed a bit off about Samson's hair.

"It's a wig, in case you're wondering."

"I didn't-"

Samson gave a dismissive wave of the hand. "It's all right. Bruce also happens to be a patient of mine. I would have some sessions with him at his lab and I kind of got myself into trouble."

Samson took off his wig and revealed a head full of green hair. Stephen apparently didn't hide his surprise well, because Samson started to laugh.

"It shocks everyone. That's why I try to keep the wig on as often as I can so I don't send my patients to the emergency room with heart attacks."

Stephen relaxed slightly. "I'll tell you one thing, Doctor. After everything I've seen recently, nothing really surprises me."

"So," Samson placed his wig back on his head. "what seems to be the problem?"

"I met Molly sometime ago where I treated her for an injury. When we began dating and she told me about vomitting during a case, I thought perhaps that we missed something and she could have been concussed; but that theory went dowwn fast because she didn't have any symtpoms, aside from her vomitting, that related to a concussion. For awhile, she seemed to be fine, until she had the nightmare. You should have heard her screaming. All she kept saying during it was "Kai." I woke her up, but she suddenly became different."

"Different how?"

"I mean she wasn't there. Not mentally anyway. Her face was dead, no emotion at all. She said she was fine and went right back to sleep. The next morning, she didn't even remember the nightmare."

"Has she been diagnosed with a memory problem in the past?"

Stephen sighed. "She says she had a case of amnesia. It started in 2003, everything else about her past is a blur. She can remember little things about her childhood, but that's about the extent of it. The weird thing about it is that I reviewed old MRIs and more recent ones, and there's not one single sign of trauma or diminshment to any area of the limbic."

Samson chewed his lower lip. "That's nearly impossible. Not unheard of. What about epilepsy?"

"No medical history of seizures."

"Vitamin B intake is good?"

Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose. "She takes vitamins every morning."

Samson sighed and seemed to be considering something. "What about psychogenic amnensia?"

"You mean that she's given herself amnesia?"

"It's not impossible. You said yourself that some of her childhood is intact, maybe we're dealing with a traumatic event. Sexual abuse, a death in the family, a witness to a horrendous act. Stephen, as a neurologist, you should know that the mind is a powerful thing. Almost like a stack of blocks; take one away, and the structure falls. One bad memory can damage a person's mentality beyond repair. That would easily explain why she denied having that nightmare; because as far as she can tell, anything related to the memory just doesn't exist. Or at least she tricks herself into believing that."

"Do you think this Kai might have something to do with it?"

"I'm almost certain."

Stephen looked up at Samson. "So what is your suggestion?"

"Hypnotism." Samson said simply.


	6. Chapter 6

Stephen wasn't sure how Molly would react to the idea of seeing a therapist. A therapist that he had seen behind her back and a therapist who wanted to put her under hypnotism. When he returned home, he told Molly what had happened. She said nothing at first, but judging by how violently she chopped the vegetables for supper; it was clear that action spoke louder than words.

"You saw a therapist? Without talking to me about it?" Molly finally snapped.

"What choice did I have? Mol, do you know how worried I've been about you? You have nightmares that you don't remember, you scream for someone I don't know, you have given yourself amnesia-"

Molly rounded on Stephen. "I gave myself amnesia? You think I would intentionally wipe out memories of half of my life?"

"I never said it was intentional, but Dr. Samson suggested-"

"Is that the name of the quack?" Molly asked abruptly.

"Yes. He suggested that something bad had happened to you and you just wanted to forget it happened, and so you made yourself forget that it did."

Molly gave a sigh of defeat. "I know."

"You what?"

Molly looked up at Stephen. "Stephen, I've always known that I did this to myself."

"Okay, I don't say this very often, but I'm confused."

Molly took Stephen's hand and led him over to the couch. "I didn't you tell you all the things I remembered. I do remember the day that I lost my memory. I had been on a plane to China. Anyway, all I remember is getting off the plane. Next thing I knew, I was back in the States and in a mental institution. My parents were there and they told me I had been found wondering the streets of Tibet, disoriented and talking to myself. I asked them why I would do such a thing, but they looked at me as if they were expecting me to answer; but I couldn't. I didn't even remember why I went to China in the first place."

As Molly explained, Stephen suddenly seemed distracted. Molly gave a frustrated sigh.

"I should have told you earlier but I didn't think you'd be interested in someone who's been in the cuckoo's nest."

"You said you were in Tibet just before you were brought back to America?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah, I was. What does that have to do with anything?"

"N-Nothing. Listen Molly, now that you've told me the truth, me and Doctor Samson can help you. We can find out what happened, if you'll let us."

"Just promise me one thing." Molly finally said.

"Anything."

"That you won't leave me. I'm not exactly very trusting of the mental health profession."

Stephen gave a relieved sigh and kissed Molly. "I'll be with you. I promise."

Stephen made Molly an appointment with Doctor Samson the very next day. As promised, he went with Molly and sat beside her the entire time; even when the time came to put Molly under hypnosis.

"Molly, I want you to look at my pen. Don't take your eyes off it." Doctor Samson said in a calm and soothing voice.

Molly obeyed and kept her focus solely on Samson's pen, but held tight to Stephen's hand.

"I'm going to count backwards from ten. When I'm done, you'll close your eyes and go to sleep for awhile. Ten...Nine...Eight...Seven...Six...Five...Four...Three...Two...One."

Molly's eyes drooped close and the hold on Stephen's hand slackened. It had happened so suddenly that Stephen believed she had passed out.

"Don't worry, she's just in a deep sleep. Now, Molly, do you hear me?"

"Yes, I hear you." Molly said sleepily.

"Good. Now, Molly, I'm going to take you back to the past. Back to the time that you went to Tibet. You don't have to worry though, it's just like going to a movie. You can see and hear everything, but nothing can harm you. Now, tell me where you are?"

"I'm walking down a street. It's so crowded. I don't care though. I just have to find it."

"Find what, Molly?"

Molly's brows knitted together. "Kamar-Taj."

Stephen swallowed a sudden lump in his throat. "I know that place. That's where I learned about the mystic arts."

"Molly, are you at Kamar Taj to learn something?" Samson asked.

"No. No, I'm there to find him. He needs to know. He needs to know that I'm alive. Kai has to know." Molly said frantically.

"It's okay, Molly. It's okay. Now tell me, who is Kai?"

"My husband."

Of all the things Stephen had been expecting to hear; this was not one of them. Part of him felt a sudden surge of anger towards Molly.

"Stephen, you gotta remember that Molly's forgotten everything."

The anger faded as quickly as it came. Now, there was just concern. Why would Molly intentionally forget her husband? Had he done something to her?

"Molly, are you at Kamar Taj now?" Samson asked gently.

"Yes, I am."

"Okay then, what's happening?"

"Where is he? Where is Kai?! I want to see my husband!" Molly shouted.

"Molly, is your husband at Kamar Taj?"

"They won't let me see him. Who are you people? Have you brainwashed him? You took him away! He needs to know that I'm here! Kai, it's Molly! It's Molly! I'm here, baby! What are you doing? No! No!"

Molly let out a piercing and painful scream. Stephen couldn't take much more and shook her gently by the shoulders; Samson snapped his fingers, bringing Molly out of the trance.

With tears running down her face, Molly threw her arms around Stephen. "Oh Stephen, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I didn't know."

Stephen shushed Molly. "It's okay. I believe you."

Molly started to sob. "What happened to me? What did they do to my memory?"


	7. Chapter 7

For the next few days, Molly did nothing but work, eat, and sleep. She and Stephen barely spoke to each other, neither sure what to say about the fact that Molly had a husband somewhere. Sex was no longer possible, without Molly feeling like she was cheating on someone she didn't even remember. Despite all this, they were still in love and refused to give up on their relationship.

One day, Stephen came back to the apartment to find Molly laying on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. He placed the books that he'd been carrying on the table.

"What's all this?" Molly asked, sitting up.

"Books about brainwashing, power of suggestion, and-"

"Stephen, I know you want to help, but if something was done to memory at Kamar Taj, then there's no chance I'm going to remember."

"That's the thing, we don't know what they did there. It may be magic, or it may have just been some form of selective hypnosis or brainwashing. That can be reversed, if we can find the right trigger. We've just got to reprogram your brain to remember." Stephen explained.

Molly sighed and started to flip through the books. When she was done, she looked at Stephen and shrugged.

"Even if it is possible, we wouldn't know where to start." Molly said.

"Yes we do. We know that you went to look for your husband at Kamar Taj. I just happen to have something."

Stephen left and returned with a pile of sketches of Kamar Taj. Molly gasped at how intricate and beautiful the drawings were.

"So, you're an artist, too?" Molly joked.

"It was a pretty awesome place. Didn't have my cell phone, so I drew these pictures. Now, tell me if anything looks familiar."

Molly started to flip through the sketches slowly. She suddenly stopped and dropped the pictures.

"What is it, Molly? What did you see?" Stephen asked.

"S-She did it. She made me forget about Kai."

"Who did?"

Molly lifted a shaking finger to point at one of the fallen sketches. Stephen's eyes grew wide when he saw that the drawing was of the Mystic One.

"Mol, there has to be a mistake."

"It was her, Stephen! She wouldn't let me see him! She made me forget about Kai! It had to be. She told me that I wasn't no good to him anymore, that I'd only interfere with his training. The bitch even changed his name."

Stephen faced Molly. "What was that?"

"She changed his name. She said it was better for him to have a new name, so he could fully embrace his new powers."

"What was his name? Do you remember?" Stephen asked.

"I don't know. Kailecious. Something like that, I think."

Stephen felt his heart go into his stomach. "Kaecilius?"

Molly snapped her fingers. "That's it! That was the name she gave him."


End file.
